Chapter 85
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Lesson 18. Midterms - 7
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The Chancellor's words about Mira's potion had hit the nail on the head.
Not detoxification, but curse nullification.
The potion itself wasn't particularly poisonous. It was merely a catalyst that linked the drinker to a specific constellation.
That connection plunged the consumer into a trance-like state. Traces of the constellation's stigma flowed back into them—likely from a constellation with abilities that affected the mind—making them numb to external stimuli, narrowing their field of vision, and stripping away rational judgment.
The heightened learning effect was just a side benefit, and compared to Ban Yu-won's talismans, it was pathetically inferior.
If that were the end of it, they could laugh it off. But the real problem started there.
The moment someone drank the potion, they effectively entered a provisional contract with the constellation.
No one knew exactly what price they'd pay for absorbing that faint stigma into their body, but even if it demanded their soul, they'd have no choice but to hand it over. It was a scam of a contract.
If that wasn't a curse, what was?
So, how do you nullify this potion—dispel the curse?
First, you sever the connection to the constellation.
Obviously. But it's incredibly difficult.
If it were a formal contract, no one else could interfere. But since this was just a provisional contract through the potion, it could be broken.
It wasn't a legitimate contract to begin with, and the method was crude. That's why they could initiate the contract dissolution process using a similar method: the act of "drinking something."
Recreating the conditions under which the curse was applied—that was the first step to dispelling it, as he'd learned from Cellon.
Of course, drinking plain water wouldn't cut the connection. It had to be a magical potion infused with Ban Yu-won's custom language magic: "Dissolve" and "Sever."
Second, erase the lingering traces of the constellation from their bodies.
In terms of difficulty, this was even harder than the first step.
However, through Tike, Ban Yu-won confirmed that the stigma inside them wasn't fully integrated—it was just floating around.
Thinking about it, that made sense.
If it were perfectly absorbed and wielded, they'd be an official contractor and sponsor of the constellation.
That's when Ban Yu-won had his epiphany.
'What if I absorb it with my own authority?'
From there came deep contemplation, thought experiments, and discussions with Cellon.
In the end, he decided to use the method of "counterpoison with poison."
Using the power of a constellation to suppress the power of a constellation!
Soul Flame.
Here, for the first time, he revealed that terrifying ability: dividing his soul and imbuing it into objects.
Since it was his own soul, even divided, it could naturally wield his authority—the Babylonia Code.
Absorption, theft, preservation, and synthesis of concepts were all possible.
It might be impossible for a fully integrated body concept, but something unnaturally mixed like this stigma? He could absorb it easily!
Cellon and he reached the same conclusion, leading them to imbue the potion with Soul Flame.
'I also learned from Cellon that I need to time the activation of the language magic when the target drinks it...'
He'd tested it before, but with the changed environment and conditions, Ban Yu-won couldn't be entirely sure it'd work. He clenched his fist tightly, hiding his inner anxiety.
"All done."
Kettra, having emptied the flask Ban Yu-won handed her, turned to him with a relieved expression.
Ban Yu-won stared at her in disbelief.
"Done already?"
"Yeah. Fairies are naturally good at this sort of thing. I'm especially skilled among them. Reality alteration—specifically, swaps. It's an innate racial ability that transcends magic."
"Oh..."
"Of course—"
She's even more dangerous than I thought, Ban Yu-won mused, stepping back. But Kettra closed the distance in a stride.
"It's not easy to use on strong ability users. Even your junior there would notice if I tried it openly. She just didn't because the targets were someone else."
"You think so?"
Ban Yu-won chuckled awkwardly, recalling how Dokgo Yeon had been caught off-guard by Kettra early in the semester.
A combination of reality alteration and invisible speed—it was impossible to detect.
To counter it, he'd need to strengthen his own abilities further. As he thought that, Kettra continued her explanation.
"But today's targets all have compromised mental states. That's why it worked without them noticing."
"Ah, right."
Those who drank Mira's potion became desensitized to external stimuli and hyper-focused on one thing.
It was probably meant to keep them from blabbing about the potion, but it made them easy prey for Kettra.
"Exactly... All targets have ingested the antidote. How's it looking?"
"Hmm."
Ban Yu-won focused his concept energy in his eyes and scanned the cafeteria.
He spotted the targets immediately.
First, the immediate activation of Dissolve and Sever.
He could see the faint energy flow from the other dimension into them snap clean.
Naturally, the focus-maintenance buff—or curse—lifted. They all blinked wide-eyed, looking around in comical confusion.
And then... no need to even check them visually. The Soul Flames that had entered their bodies were transmitting real-time data to him.
—How's it feel?
'A bit weird... I'll get better at handling the authority once I'm used to it.'
—Constellation [Breath of Life] suspects that your ability has exceeded the scope of the authority it granted.
Yeah, it exceeded it long ago~.
Ban Yu-won muttered sarcastically in his mind, where the constellation couldn't hear, then closed his eyes gently.
The depth of the soul he'd divided and imbued into the potion via Soul Flame was roughly 50.
There were just under 50 students in a provisional contract state from Mira's potion. So, one fragment of his soul per student.
Normally, a depth of 1 couldn't do much.
But the potion they'd swallowed with his soul fragment carried powerful language magic derived from his concept energy.
The moment the constellation link was severed, the soul flames surged in. The stigma couldn't resist and was absorbed.
Then, through the potion's feverish reaction, all the students sweated it out... and the Soul Flames exited through their pores with the sweat, returning to Ban Yu-won for reabsorption.
Getting into a human body is hard, but getting out is easy!
...Still, even knowing it wasn't actually the sweat, it felt a bit gross.
"Oh."
The stigma absorbed from each was small, but together it amounted to a considerable quantity.
Once the depth hit 10, efficiency would probably skyrocket.
—Good work.
'Thanks for the help too.'
Anyway, it was over.
No traces of the constellation remained in the students, and the contracts were perfectly dissolved.
The curse nullification was complete.
As Ban Yu-won looked up in satisfaction, Kettra also sighed in relief beside him.
"Looks like it went off without a hitch."
"But Senior, there's one last thing to do."
"Of course. Right on cue—they're here."
No idea when she'd contacted him, but a hulking man... Graham was entering the student cafeteria.
With the incident resolved, they could now bring in outsiders—or rather, other student council members.
"This is the Student Council. We've received a report of illegal drug trafficking on campus. Those named will come with us for investigation."
His imposing baritone, arguably the Academy's heaviest, shook the vast cafeteria.
Funny how swapping "potion" and "drug" made it feel a million times shadier.
"Grail, Autos, Mashinan, Duvec Il Tassis..."
"W-what?! Illegal drugs? I don't know anything about that!"
"It's not illegal! We just drank a little study-aid potion at the exam hall—not cheating or anything..."
"Uh, where are we? What day is it? My memory's fuzzy..."
The potion drinkers reacted like obvious criminals, panicking openly.
Ban Yu-won watched, dumbfounded, and muttered,
"Wouldn't it have been easier to just round them up in the student council room from the start and make them drink the antidote?"
"They wouldn't have come quietly. That potion had messed with their heads."
"True..."
Ban Yu-won nodded, agreeing with Kettra that forced enforcement before the antidote might have blown things up worse.
He just felt a bit indignant watching them spill everything and comply meekly at Graham's word—after all his agonizing efforts.
"The severe side effects made enforcement easier, right? Look at them, still out of it and babbling."
"Guess that's thanks to me, then."
Most potion drinkers seemed clueless about why they were there.
It underscored how dangerous the trance state was... and how it could lead to other crimes. Other students were murmuring in realization.
Perfectly timed—the incident unfolded in the student cafeteria, where most gathered.
With it publicized here, and everyone now alert, no more potion trafficking in the Academy.
"Ah, Graham's heading this way."
"Then I'll get going..."
But Ban Yu-won's escape wish fell flat.
Graham had locked onto him from the start.
"Student Council Secretary Graham. Nice to meet you, Ban Yu-won."
"...Hello, Senior. I remember you."
Graham, having lined up the potion drinkers like dried fish on strings, stood before him.
For some reason, he always introduced his title and name when addressing Ban Yu-won. He bowed with a wry smile, but Graham placed a hand on his shoulder with a stern expression.
"I heard you gave advice that helped resolve this."
Ban Yu-won shot Kettra a glare instead of answering right away.
She looked guilty.
"When I asked him to handle cleanup, it came up. I didn't tell the other execs, obviously. Not Mira, not our president."
Ban Yu-won sighed and nodded.
Graham was trustworthy, and he couldn't have figured out exactly what Ban Yu-won did today anyway.
"It's fine. But keep this quiet, Seniors."
"Naturally. My deepest thanks for your cooperation. I look forward to working with you as an executive."
"Uh, let's not..."
Ban Yu-won dodged for now. If they learned Mira was behind it—and that he'd stabbed her in the back—their thoughts might shift.
"Vice President, we need to question them... Will you join us?"
"Yeah, let's go. See you later, Junior Ban Yu-won."
"Sure."
Ban Yu-won watched them leave, struck by the impression of Graham—professor-level dignity—using formal speech with Kettra, who looked like a blond tanned thug.
That afternoon, while training Divine Presence Arts under Dokgo Yeon's relentless beatings (Lucelle and As Light were prioritizing exam prep), a message from Kettra arrived in his mirror.
Thanks for this incident—let's meet this weekend.
"What's up, Ban Yu-won? The beast in heat again...?"
"No, a guy."
"A guy?!"
If she felt grateful, he wished she'd stop taking his time. But not joining the council didn't mean cutting ties was smart—
And he still had questions about fairy innate abilities.
So, he accepted the invitation.